Characters part 4

Street Fighter IV Characters

First thing to know about Akuma is that while he's got some things Ryu doesn't, he's not as good as Ryu. Also, he's got really low health, which means that every hit from the opponent takes a greater percentage of Akuma's health than for most any other character (only Seth's health is likely worse). That low health is a major part of Akuma's weakness versus Ryu, but it's definitely not the only thing. Still, he's got some useful tactics if you can manage to not get hit.

Akuma can be played in one of two ways. His air fireball, the Zanku Hadoken ( + P in air ), is good for both offense and a runaway defense. To play a runaway game with Akuma, jump backwards with his air fireballs to keep the opponent off of you. If the opponent breaks through this iron clad (uhhh) defense, Akuma can teleport through the opponent. During Akuma's teleport ( or + PPP or KKK ), he is entirely invincible, though as he comes out of the teleport he is vulnerable for a few frames.

More likely, you'll have better success with a severe offense, though executing this successfully takes considerable practice. You can't let up. Cross-up attempts work well with j.MK. If you land the cross-up, combo into a LK Tatsumaki ( + LK ) and you can juggle the opponent with a Goshoryuken ( + P ) after the Tatsu hits.

If the j.MK cross-up attempt is blocked, go into a poking string. You can cancel into a teleport to move away and reset, attempt a throw, or cancel one of your pokes into a Hyakkishu ( + K ) to continue the pressure. Unfortunately, the air kick doesn't hit overhead, so it can be blocked with a low guard. But if your opponent gets too comfortable with blocking low, you can nail 'em with a Zugaihasatsu ( + MP ) for a quick overhead.

Learn to use Akuma's teleport for positioning, but also learn its limits. If you just teleport up to an opponent, he/she will have a frame advantage and will be able to hit you before you recover. That doesn't mean you should avoid using teleports, though. Defensively, they're great for getting away from a pushy opponent (such as, mmm, Zangief). Offensively, they're good for positioning after a knock down. If you drop an opponent with a throw, teleport after him/her to keep up pressure, instead of letting the distance reset the fight's momentum. You can also teleport through aggressive projectiles and buffer the inputs for his ultra combo so that Akuma immediately moves into the attack.

Combos

j.MK ( cross-up ) c.MK xx + LK + HP

This is more or less Akuma's bread-and-butter combo. Unlike the other shotos in the game, Akuma can juggle combo off of his LK Tatsumaki ( + LK ), and a HP Shoryuken is the best damage you can get. You can get a similar effect by just throwing out c.LK attacks and, if they land, cancel into the LK Tatsu to work in the juggle.

s.HK c.LK xx + LK + HP

This is just another way to get into the LK Tatsumaki ( + LK ) so that you can work in a discouraging juggle combo. After the second hit of the s.HK (started from a half step away from the opponent—the kick is different if your right next to the opponent), you can link the c.LK and cancel that into the LK Tatsu and work in Akuma's bread-and-butter juggle.

MP + MK LP LP LK HP

If you land a Focus Attack, you can combo into Akuma's super (or ultra). This is probably the only situation in which you'd want to actually use Akuma's super. Note that it's better to cancel your Focus Attack with a backward dash instead of a forward dash. If your Raging Demon input doesn't finish before the dash, you might end up tagging the opponent with a jab before the super comes out, and he/she will be able to jump right out of it.

Moves List

Zugaihasatsu

+ MP

NORMAL

This attack hits overhead, which means that even though it's a ground attack it will connect with an opponent that is turtling behind a low guard. Throw it into your close pokes for quick damage, or even use it as a meaty attack as most opponents will wake up with a low guard.

Tenmakujinkyaku

+ MK ( in air, at peak of forward jump )

NORMAL

You can combo off of this if it connects in the air. The best thing about the kick is that it causes Akuma to pause momentarily in the air, which can throw off the timing of your opponent. It also shoots down at a pretty steep angle, which means that it'll hit from the front off of the same jump that would normally work for a j.MK cross-up. If your opponent gets wise to your cross-up attempts, try mixing it up with this diving kick.

Gohadoken

+ P

SPECIAL

This is a pretty standard fireball, but that's a good thing. It travels full screen, has good speed, and will let you dominate projectile wars against anyone that isn't Ryu, Ken or Sagat. The Gohadoken is also a good way to end a poke string that gets blocked on the ground as it'll leave you safe (and deal a sliver of chip damage).

Shakunetsu Hadoken

+ P

SPECIAL

This fireball is a lot slower to come out than Akuma's Gohadoken, so it's harder to react with. But, it does have a very good strength in that the HP version of the Shakunetsu Hadoken hits three times. Not only does it do more damage (both on hit and in chip damage), but more importantly the fireball will eat fireballs from opponents, pass through and continue to hit. Other characters need to use EX fireballs to get that effect, but Akuma gets it for free. Even better, the HP version of his Shakunetsu will even eat EX fireballs from opponents, as they all hit twice and the HP Shakunetsu hits three times.

Zanku Hadoken

+ P ( in air )

SPECIAL

Akuma's air fireball is another unique quality that you'll want to abuse if you pick him over the more traditional shotos. The three punch buttons give you three different angles on the projectile. You can use the Zanku Hadoken as you jump backward to keep the opponent away, or use it as you jump forward to effectively make your jump safe. After knocking an opponent down, jump and launch a light Zanku to hit them just as they stand up. It's an important aspect of Akuma's pressure game.

Goshoryuken

+ P

SPECIAL

Like the other shoto characters, Akuma's Shoryuken is a great attack. It's got outstanding priority, which means it'll beat pretty much every other attack that the opponent tries to counter with. Use the LP Goshoryuken as a wake-up attack to counter any meaty jump-ins.

Tatsumaki Zankukyaku

+ K

SPECIAL

As mentioned earlier, Akuma can juggle off of his LK Tatsumaki Zankukyaku, and it's easy to combo into the attack from a c.LK, c.MK, or s.HK. The MK and HK versions of the Tatsumaki will also pass through mid-height projectiles, though the first few frames of the attack are still vulnerable to fireballs.

Hyakkishu

+ K

SPECIAL

This is mostly good for applying pressure. A c.MK poke normally has some recovery time on it, which would make jumping at the opponent afterward a bit of a slow maneuver. But you can cancel that same c.MK poke with the Hyakkishu to negate that recovery lag and immediately go into more pressure. Sadly, the air kick from the Hyakkishu is blockable with a low guard, but you can at least grab an opponent (press LP + LK while in the air) that's comfortably crouching in guard.

Ashura Senku

or + PPP or KKK

SPECIAL

Akuma's teleport starts instantly, making him instantly invincible, but it ends with some recovery frames during which he is a sitting duck. For this reason, it's best to use the teleport defensively or to cover distance after knocking down an opponent.

Raging Demon

LP LP LK HP

SUPER COMBO

Suuucks. Damage is weak and the Raging Demon doesn't even cross the entire screen. Grabbing an opponent is difficult enough with Akuma's ultra since neither of these attacks has very good priority and both are easily interrupted. Oh yeah, the super is also slow. Save your meter for EX attacks instead.

Wrath of the Raging Demon

LP LP LK HP

ULTRA COMBO

This is more like it. Akuma's ultra does pretty outstanding damage (roughly 60% damage versus most opponents) and it's unblockable. It's fast, it travels the entire length of the screen, and it looks cool. Alright, so not everything is peachy in Wrath of the Raging Demon land. While the move is unblockable, opponents can easily slip it by simply jumping over it, even if Akuma is right next to the opponent and even if you start the attack before an opponent wakes up from a knock down. To be successful with the ultra, you need to time it properly. Wait for the opponent to jump and you can catch him/her upon landing from the jump. You can also teleport through a projectile and breaking out the ultra as Akuma ends his warp.